February
27, 2017 (Chicago, IL) - Chicago Sinfonietta presents its penultimate concert of the season,
More Than a Letter, which celebrates self-identity and
self-expression through the artistry of LGBTQ composers and musicians,
and features guest conductor
Michael Morgan, concert pianist
Sara Davis Buechner plus performances from Musicality
andAllegrezza Singers.
The Sinfonietta performs More Than a Letter twice: first, in the western suburbs at Wentz Concert Hall of North Central College, Naperville,
Saturday, March 25 at 8 pm, and then again in its downtown Chicago home venue of Symphony Center,
Monday, March 27 at 7:30 pm.

For
nearly 30 years, Chicago Sinfonietta has led the field of symphonic
music in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion, making
intentional strides towards racial, cultural,
and gender equality in the art form. In More Than a Letter, the
Sinfonietta expands its efforts by shining a light on LGBTQ composers
and musicians to explore gender identity and sexual orientation as they
intersect with art, voice, and personal experience,
as well as challenge labels of any kind.

Lead by guest conductor
Michael Morgan, Music Director of the Oakland Symphony
and former Assistant Conductor of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the program begins with
Curie High School's professional caliber vocal ensemble,
Musicality, who were recently featured on America's Got Talent, joining the orchestra for a performance of
Stand in the Light written by
Lauren Christy andGrammy- and Oscar-nominated writer and producer
Stephan Moccio. The first half continues withLeonard Bernstein’s clever and vibrant Candide Overture followed by Sergei Rachmaninoff’stour-de-force Variations on a Theme by Paganini featuring internationally acclaimed pianist
Sara Davis Buechner, who began her career as David and has shared
her personal transition story nationally and internationally as an
advocate for LGBTQ artists in the field for more than twenty years.
Samuel Barber’s
Overture to the School for Scandal opens the second half which then continues with the
Chicago Premiere of Pulitzer Prize and Grammy Award-winning composer Jennifer Higdon’s
Peachtree Street. The Allegrezza Singers join the orchestra for the remainder of the program including
David Conte’s moving work Elegy for Matthew, written in honor of Matthew Shepard, a young, gay man who was the victim of
one of the most notorious anti-gay hate crimes in American history and
whose death spurred legislative movement toward extending the legal definition of hate crimes to attacks on sexual orientation. The concert then comes to a close with Bernstein’s
Quintet from West Side Story and Somewhere featuring soloists from Allegrezza.

“I
am thrilled to come back to Chicago to engage with two groups that were
so important to me there, Chicago Sinfonietta and the LGBTQ community,”
said
Michael Morgan. “I think we've put together a program that is both entertaining and enlightening, and
in the great Sinfonietta tradition, is inclusive of everyone. I am so proud to lead this special evening.”

Before
the show and during intermission, audience members will also have the
opportunity to explore identity and challenge labels by creating a
self-portrait collage, writing
a letter of courage to a stranger and by watching a series of coming
out stories from the LGBTQ community presented by
VideoOut, the largest collection of LGBTQ ally stories online.

On
March 26, Chicago Sinfonietta will partner with VideoOut to present the
second installment of their Chicago Story Collection Day,
day-long
effort to engage and amplify the voices of the LGBTQ community by
filming personal narrative stories of coming out which will be shared on
www.videoout.org.
Chicago
Sinfonietta and VideoOut invite all LGBTQ people and their allies to
participate. The Story Collection Day will be held from 11am-4pm at the
Alphawood Gallery at
2401 N Halsted Street.
Details and instructions for how to sign up will be available soon on
chicagosinfonietta.org.

More Than a Letter is sponsored in part by Aon and Hyatt with media support from Windy City Times
and community partnership with Center on Halsted.

Title:Chicago Sinfonietta presents More Than a Letter

Dates:
Saturday, March 25 at 8:00 p.m. at Wentz Concert Hall of North Central College

Monday, March 27 at 7:30 p.m. at Orchestra Hall of Symphony Center

Tickets:
Single tickets range from $18-$99
for concerts at Symphony Center and $48-$60 for concerts at Wentz
Concert Hall, with special $10 pricing available for students at both
concerts. Tickets can be purchased by calling Chicago Sinfonietta at
312-284-1554 or online at
www.chicagosinfonietta.org.

Program:

CHRISTY/MOCCIO

BERNSTEIN

RACHMANINOFF

BARBER

HIGDON

CONTE

BERNSTEIN

BERNSTEIN

Stand in the Light

Candide

Variations on a Theme by Paganini

Overture to the School for Scandal

Peachtree Street

Elegy for Matthew

Quintet from West Side Story

Somewhere

Michael Morgan, guest conductor

Sara Davis Buechner, piano

Allegrezza Singers, choir

Musicality, choir

Now in its 29th
season, Chicago Sinfonietta has pushed artistic boundaries to provide
an alternative way of hearing, seeing and thinking about a symphony
orchestra and is dedicated to promoting diversity, inclusion, racial
and cultural equity in the arts.Led by Music Director Mei-Ann Chen since
2011, each concert experience blends inventive new works with classical
masterworks, each from a diverse array of voices, to entertain,
transform and inspire. In 2016, Chicago Sinfonietta
was the proud recipient of John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur
Foundation’s prestigious MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective
Institutions (MACEI). This award recognizes exceptional organizations
that are key contributors in their fields. The orchestra
also received the Spirit of Innovation Award at this year’s Chicago
Innovation Awards. Learn more at
www.chicagosinfonietta.org.

Chicago
Sinfonietta is grateful to its season sponsors including Cedar
Concepts, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Southwest Airlines,
Fairmont Hotel, Hotel
Arista and NBC5. Chicago Sinfonietta also thanks its BRIDGE Audience
Engagement sponsors Macy's and PWC, as well as its season media sponsors
including WXRT, Chicago and Naperville Magazines, and Chicago Reader.